Port workers back on the job after deal ends costly strike

Thousands of longshore union members returned to work Wednesday at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach as terminal operators began clearing a backlog created by a weeklong strike, which ended late Tuesday night when union and management officials reached a deal with help from Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.

Around 8 a.m. Wednesday, members of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union began unloading cargo from ships, many of which had been waiting in port since the union's small Office Clerical Unit set up picket lines. All 10 terminals at both ports struck by the unit Office Clerical Unitwere once again open, and many terminal operators were expecting to soon accept ships that had been anchored for several days off the coast of California, waiting for the strike to end.

"It's a little noisier today than it has been the past eight days," said Alan McCorkle, senior vice president of APM Terminals Pacific Ltd., the largest terminal operator at the Port of Los Angeles. "It's good to have the cargo back, and it's good to have the people back. It's good to get back to doing what we do."

The deal, announced by both sides at 10:30 p.m. Tuesday, still must be ratified by the Office Clerical Unit, a relatively small bargaining unit whose members handle a range of back-office duties for major terminal operators. An ILWU spokesman said the process likely will take several weeks - workers will need time to read the agreements, review them and ask questions - but it is expected that members will ratify the contracts.

The 800-member unit actually reached agreements with 14 separate employers. Unlike other longshore unions, who negotiate one agreement for all workers along the West Coast, the OCU negotiates contracts with each employer.

Sources involved in the negotiations say three main factors helped the sides settle. The first, they say, was Villaraigosa, who arrived at talks late Monday after returning from a nine-day trade mission to South America and stayed until late Tuesday morning. Negotiators on both sides say Villaraigosa, a former high-ranking union official, bounced from room to room, seeking to persuade both sides of their weaknesses and urging them to achieve a quick deal.

Sources also say that, behind the scenes, some members of the ILWU may have been pushing the clerical unit to settle. Most of the union's 10,000 members were not part of the strike - they were only honoring picket lines - and some wanted to start earning paychecks again, some close to the talks say.

The third factor was the arrival of George H. Cohen, director of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service in Washington, D.C. Union officials had resisted management calls for a mediator, but they eventually relented Tuesday morning after talks stalled.

Negotiators said they suspected the mediator might change the scope of talks, possibly forcing both sides to agree to more than each wanted. The sides were able to wrap up their deal just before Cohen was set to intervene.

Stephen Berry, lead negotiator for the 14 employers and an attorney at Paul Hastings LLP, said workers will receive pay increases of about $1 per hour, to about $42 per hour, along with generous increases in their company-funded pensions. He said the average total compensation, including benefits, for each clerical worker will increase from around $165,000 to $190,000.

In return, Berry said terminal operators will not need to replace every clerical unit worker who retires, takes a leave of absence or goes on vacation. Berry declined to say exactly how many workers will not need to be replaced, but a source close to the talks said terminal operators will still need to hire for most open positions.

"Both sides recognized that there was not going to be an agreement without some compromise," Berry said. "We're extremely pleased with the fact that the parties were able to reach an agreement that reopened the ports and allows cargo to flow."

The action at both ports began quickly.

About 10 minutes after Villaraigosa announced the deal, port pilot operators began assisting container vessels that had been at anchor into the empty berths and getting them ready for the dockworkers, Port of Los Angeles spokesman Phillip Sanfield said.

At Yusen Terminals in Los Angeles, President and Chief Executive Patrick Burgoyne watched at 8 a.m. as about 250 union members arrived to begin their first shifts in a week.

Burgoyne said it will take about seven to 10 days before operations return to normal.

"We're in direct contact with many of the cargo owners," he said. "They're delighted to see the ports opened again. Everyone is eager to get their containers moving and see their goods on the shelves."

J. Christopher Lytle, executive director of the Port of Long Beach, said terminal operators there were also seeking to return to normal operations soon. Three of six terminals had been closed in Long Beach since Nov. 28.

"We're encouraging terminals to increase their hours of operation so cargo can flow almost 24-7," Lytle said, adding that the port's gate is open from 6 p.m. to 3 a.m. "No other port in the U.S. has those kind of hours."

Nearby, Geraldine Knatz, executive director of the Port of Los Angeles, said she was similarly happy that cargo was moving. Seven of eight terminals there had been closed.

"I don't think there are words to describe how pleased I am," she said. "I can look up the Main Channel, and I can see a ship at every terminal."

At the ILWU dispatch hall in Wilmington, about 40 longshore workers waited Wednesday afternoon inside the cavernous building and in its parking lots, waiting to be called back to work. A security guard kept watch out front, keeping observers from peeking inside.

Several longshore workers said they were pleased to be going back to work, but noted that union officials had barred them from speaking publicly about the strike or the settlement.